This recipe for Mexican-style Pulled Pork is super flavorful, juicy, fall-apart tender and easy to make using a pressure cooker (Instant Pot). Use the meat in anything from tacos to burritos and everything in between.
What is pulled pork?
Pulled pork is a type of meat (usually from pork shoulder) that is slowly cooked and is pulled apart by hand, or shredded.
It is primarily an American-style BBQ meat, typically found in the Southern US states. The meat is shredded and mixed with a barbecue sauce before it is piled onto buns or eaten on its own.
Mexican-style pulled pork, also known as carnitas is traditionally slow-braised for hours in lard or oil, resulting in a tender and juicy meat.
Why you'll love this recipe
This Mexican Pulled Pork has been a recipe that I've been making for many years. This pork carnitas recipe is:
Super versatile: you can use the tender pulled pork in tacos, burritos, taquitos, enchiladas, and even pupusas.
Saves time: using a pressure cooker (Instant Pot) saves time and delivers tender, fall-apart delicious meat.
Flavorful: the additional step of broiling the meat in the oven crisps up the meat and adds even more flavor and texture.
Ingredients you'll need
- pork shoulder/pork roast: boneless; trimmed of any excess fat and patted dry; you can also use pork butt, also known as Boston butt
- vegetable oil: you can use any high-smoke point oil such as avocado, grapeseed, or peanut
- white onions: chopped
- garlic: minced
- spices: ground cumin, ancho chili powder, chipotle pepper powder, paprika, dried basil, dried oregano
- sea salt & black pepper
- apple cider vinegar: adds a little acidity and tanginess
- chipotle peppers + adobo sauce: for heat; omit if you don't like it spicy; you can usually find canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce in the ethnic/international foods aisle in grocery stores
- orange juice and lime juice: for fresh acidity, and helps tenderize the meat
- fresh tomatoes: chopped
- cilantro: chopped
You can find these ingredients at your local grocery store.
How to make Mexican pulled pork
Cook the meat
Press SAUTE button on Instant Pot and wait until it reads "HOT."
Add pork shoulder fat side down and sear the meat approximately 2-3 minutes per side. Be careful to not let it smoke.
Each side should be nice and brown.
Remove the meat to a plate temporarily.
Into the pot, if there is not enough rendered fat, add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and add in the onion and garlic. Sauté until aromatic, about 2-3 minutes.
Add in the spices and toast with the oil, onion and garlic.
Pour in apple cider vinegar to deglaze the pot and scrape off any brown bits.
Next, add in the can of chipotle peppers, orange and lime juice and stir.
Return the pork shoulder to the pot, along with any of its juices.
Now add in the chopped tomatoes and chopped cilantro.
Cover with the lid. Turn the vent knob to SEAL.
Press the MEAT button and set for 75 mins and let the pressure manually release.
Shred the meat
Remove the pork from the Instant Pot and use two large forks to shred the meat.
Transfer the shredded pork to a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil.
Broil in the oven for 5-6 minutes (keep an eye on it), or until the edges turn slightly crisp with a little char. Set aside.
With the remaining liquid in the Instant Pot, press the SAUTE button to continue cooking to evaporate excess liquid.
Once the liquid has mostly evaporated, leaving about 1-2 cups of liquid left, turn off the Instant Pot.
Transfer the liquid to a bowl and serve on the side with the shredded pork.
Garnish the pulled pork with chopped cilantro leaves.
Note: If you prefer to skim off excess fat from the liquid, you can separately store in the fridge overnight before adding it to the meat.
Serve pulled pork with warmed tortillas or tostadas, alongside salsa/pico de gallo, guacamole, sour cream, and/or cheese.
How to serve
Mexican Pulled Pork is a super versatile meat that can be used in many dishes.
Simply wrap the carnitas meat in between homemade flour tortillas or corn tortillas with shredded cheese, fresh pico de gallo, guacamole, and sour cream.
What to do with leftovers
Use the Mexican pulled pork in tacos, quesadillas, burritos, rice bowls, tostadas, taquitos, chimichangas, sandwiches/tortas, enchiladas or nachos.
For an alternative spin, you can also add the meat in pupusas or arepas.
How to store
Fridge:
Store any leftover carnitas meat in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Freezer:
You can also freeze the pulled pork in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
Defrost in the fridge overnight before using.
How to reheat pulled pork
If reheating a small batch, you can place the pulled pork in the microwave for 1-2 minutes, until warmed through.
If reheating a large batch of meat, you can add it to a pot on the stove-top over medium heat, until heated thoroughly.
Or place in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes, until heated through.
FAQs & expert tips
Can I make this in a slow-cooker/crock pot?
Yes, you can definitely make this in a crock pot.
Just sear the pork shoulder and fry the aromatics in a large heavy-bottomed pot first.
Then, transfer the ingredients to a slow cooker/crock pot and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or HIGH for 4-5 hours.
The meat should come apart gently. If there is a lot of liquid in the crockpot leftover, pour it into a saucepan and reduce until the sauce is thickened and can moisten the shredded meat sufficiently.
Can I use bone-in pork shoulder?
If using bone-in, you will need to add additional cook time of 5 minutes for Instant Pot, and an additional 60 minutes for a slow-cooker/crockpot.
Other Mexican-inspired recipes you may like
Be sure to check out these recipes:
Baked Turkey & Black Bean Taquitos (Rolled Tortillas)
Easy Korean Beef Tacos (Instant Pot)
Let me know if you try out this recipe -- tag me on Instagram @siftandsimmer or leave me a comment/rating below!
Mexican-Style Pulled Pork (Instant Pot)
For accuracy and precision in baking recipes, use weight (metric) measurements when available.
Ingredients
- 4 lbs boneless pork shoulder trimmed of excess fat, but leave a little fat for searing
- 2 large white onions chopped
- 8 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoon ground cumin
- 2 teaspoon ancho chili powder optional
- 2 teaspoon chipotle pepper powder optional
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 2 ½ teaspoon sea salt or to taste
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- 1 orange juice of
- 2 limes juice of
- 4 large tomatoes chopped
- 1 C fresh cilantro chopped, plus extra chopped cilantro leaves for garnish
Instructions
Cook the meat:
- Press SAUTE button on Instant Pot and wait until it reads "HOT."
- Add pork shoulder fat side down and sear the meat approximately 2-3 minutes per side. Be careful to not let it smoke.
- Each side should be nice and brown.
- Remove the meat to a plate temporarily.
- Into the pot, if there is not enough rendered fat, add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and add in the onion and garlic. Sauté until aromatic, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add in all the spices and toast with the oil, onion and garlic.
- Pour in apple cider vinegar to deglaze the pot and scrape off any brown bits.
- Next, add in the can of chipotle peppers, orange and lime juice and stir.
- Return the pork shoulder to the pot, along with any of its juices.
- Now add in the chopped tomatoes and chopped cilantro.
- Cover with the lid. Turn the vent knob to SEAL.
- Press the MEAT button and set for 75 mins and let the pressure manually release.
Shred the meat:
- Remove the pork from the Instant Pot and use two large forks to shred the meat.
- Transfer the shredded pork to a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil.
- Broil in the oven for 5-6 minutes (keep an eye on it), or until the edges turn slightly crisp with a little char. Set aside.
- With the remaining liquid in the Instant Pot, press the SAUTE button to continue cooking to evaporate excess liquid.
- Once the liquid has mostly evaporated, leaving about 1-2 cups of liquid left, turn off the Instant Pot.
- Transfer the liquid to a bowl and serve on the side with the shredded pork.
- Garnish the pulled pork with chopped cilantro leaves.
- Note: If you prefer to skim off excess fat from the liquid, you can separately store in the fridge overnight before adding it to the meat.
- Serve pulled pork with warmed tortillas or tostadas, alongside salsa/pico de gallo, guacamole, sour cream, and/or cheese.
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided should be considered as approximate and is not guaranteed. Please use your best judgment to ensure food is safely prepared and/or a good fit for your diet.
Ben | Havocinthekitchen
I don't have an instant pot (nor slow cooker), and I don't really care for such devices. But your post is that rare case when I want to get one ASAP 🙂 The meat looks terrific!
Heidi | The Frugal Girls
This is one fabulously tasty recipe! I really liked your idea to prepare this pulled pork using the Instant Pot, and your easy step-by-step instructions make it so easy.